As we begin,
And before you close your eyes,
Take a moment to look around the space you're in.
Appreciate the size and shape of the room and your place in it.
Notice the walls and windows,
The furniture,
And the quality of the light.
Perhaps you'll find yourself feeling slightly more settled or present,
Just by paying attention in this simple way.
Then pick one thing in the room that draws your attention,
And examine the details.
Shape,
Colour,
Texture.
Looking as though through an artist's eye,
Appreciating the subtleties most people would miss.
Then give that same quality of attention to the things you can hear,
Allowing each sound to register as though it were fresh or unfamiliar.
And perhaps letting your eyes gently close as you continue to listen.
Then take a moment to check in with your body,
Noticing the space you take up,
How your arms and legs are positioned,
And the textures of the surfaces your body rests upon.
And stay with those simple sensations for a moment,
Perhaps appreciating the touch of air on your skin,
Noticing any parts that feel fatigued or sore,
And giving the body permission to rest.
Now quietly tune in to whatever emotion or emotions you arrived here with.
Just name whatever's present in simple,
Honest language.
For example,
Right now I'm feeling sad,
Annoyed,
Frightened,
Glad,
Flat,
Irritable,
Lonely.
Or maybe I don't quite know how I'm feeling right now.
Your mind might want to judge those feelings,
Good or bad,
Right or wrong,
And it might offer some exclamation about why you feel the way you do.
But for now,
Give your attention to the body instead.
See if you can sense exactly where these feelings show up.
Perhaps you notice something in the chest,
The throat,
Or the jaw.
Maybe there's something very obvious,
Or perhaps the feelings are quite vague.
Whatever you find,
Notice the quality is present.
Perhaps it feels tight or sticky somewhere.
Maybe there's some heat or heaviness,
A sense of being drawn down or stretched out.
For now,
Just stay with the sensations.
Taking the time to give them a little more attention than usual.
Mapping the location,
Mapping the qualities.
I'm not worrying too much about what these feelings might mean.
Instead,
Just being curious about the sensations.
And having noticed where the feelings sit and what they feel like,
See if you can also sense the space around them.
You might imagine that the sensations have edges,
And get an idea of the space in which the feelings are contained.
And perhaps you can allow those edges to soften or expand,
As though you were giving the feeling a little more room,
Or holding it more gently.
So not trying to change the feeling or make it go away,
But simply releasing your grip.
Relaxing any tendency to clench or brace or hold tight.
And to any feelings you find,
You might say,
I see you,
You're allowed to be here.
And just for a few more breaths,
Keep your attention on the sensations themselves.
If you find your mind trying to offer stories or explanations,
Just let those raw sensations be your focal point.
Tracking the way they wax and wane,
Getting a sense of where they might want to move,
Or whether they want to intensify or fade away.
Then ask yourself,
If this feeling had one thing to tell me,
What would it be?
What might it say?
What might it want?
Let the feeling have a voice,
And allow yourself to be the voice.
To hear that voice.
And just take a few seconds to see what emerges.
And before moving on,
You might say to yourself,
It makes sense that I feel this way.
What I'm feeling is a completely valid and completely natural human emotion.
Then let your awareness expand outwards to take in the rest of your body,
Your feet,
The toes,
The soles,
The heels,
And the balls.
Noticing the surfaces beneath you,
How hard or soft they are,
And your head,
Where it rests,
Or how it's balanced over the shoulders.
Then appreciate the sounds around you,
The sounds nearby,
And in the distance.
Letting your feelings be just one part of your experience.
Knowing that you don't have to continue to give them your full attention.
You can move into the rest of your day knowing that you've acknowledged and validated your feelings,
And that you're not required to give them more attention than they need.
Remembering that it's completely human to feel.
The feelings are here,
And the rest of your life is here too.
To conclude,
Take one steady breath in,
And sigh it out gently,
Soft and slow.
Allow yourself a stretch if you feel the need,
And notice how you feel now that you've taken the time to explore your emotions in this way.
When I do this practice,
I usually find I feel a little more settled,
Or just a bit more accepting.
And by making it a daily habit,
I find I'm a little less reactive than I would be otherwise.
Thanks for listening.
